CISBOT (cast-iron sealing robot) is a

cast iron pipe Cast iron pipe is Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe made predominantly from gray cast iron. It was historically used as a pressure pipe for transmission of water, gas and sewage, and as a water drainage pipe during the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th c ...

-repair robot that seals the joints in

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

pipelines from the inside, thus extending their use for up to fifty years without unearthing the joints.

Background

Many cast-iron pipes installed over a century ago have joints of

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

sealed with

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

that deteriorate over time and are often the causes of cast-iron pipe failure. Jute was an effective joint sealant when the pipes carried coal-based

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

, but natural gas, used since the 1950s in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and the 1970s in the UK, dries out the jute. A fifty-year life expectancy of the new seal has been proven in studies by

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Description

CISBOT is in diameter, is long, weighs , and is deployed with a truck containing the control unit, which is attached to the robot with a tether for the power, communication, and control cables, as well as sealant tubing. It is capable of repairing pipe. CISBOT is introduced into a pipeline through a hole and can repair the joints with an anaerobic sealant for a distance of while the pipe is still in operation. External repair without the robot would require the arranging of temporary gas supply to customers through tanks, purging the pipeline of gas, then digging up each joint, usually every , repairing the joint, and re-covering the pipeline. The cost of internal robotic repair is approximately 25% of manual resealing and 10% of total pipeline replacement. The robot was developed by ULC Robotics of

Hauppauge Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. Its population in 2022 was estimated at 20,401 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the official ...

with cooperation from

Con Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...

and National Grid and costs approximately $1 million. ULC announced the robot in 2015; however it has been in use since at least 2010 and by mid-2012 had sealed over 5000 joints. CISBOT has been used in the United States in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In Europe, it has been used in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

by SGN.

Operation

A flange is first attached to the pipe, through which CISBOT drills an access hole. It then rolls into the pipe and propels itself on two wheels down the pipe. It can travel up to per minute. Upon reaching a joint, it rotates 360° within the pipe to apply the sealant, using its third perpendicular wheel. It drills holes into the joints through which it injects the sealant. It is controlled by two operators monitoring through six cameras. It is equipped with lights and other sensors. In

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, CISBOT has discovered foreign objects within gas pipelines, including a baseball and stiletto shoes. It found a 1939 newspaper under Boston's

Berkeley Street Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

. In 2015, CISBOT received a "game changer" award from Robotics Business Review because of its significant improvement in the process used to fix pipe joints.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news, last=Russell, first=Pam Radtkr, title=Cast-Iron Repairing Robot Is Game-Changer for Gas Utilities, date=Feb 12, 2018, work= Engineering News Record, page=33 {{cite news, title=21st-Century Repairman: The Robot in the Gas Main, last=Barron, first=James, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/nyregion/con-ed-robot.html, access-date=Feb 26, 2018, work=The New York Times, date=December 28, 2017 {{cite news, title=Robotic Technology Extends the Life of Gas Pipelines, url=https://napipelines.com/robotic-technology-extends-the-life-of-gas-pipelines/, access-date=Feb 26, 2018, work=North American Oil & Gas Pipelines, date=January 20, 2016 {{cite web, title=ULC CISBOT Utilized to Repair Gas Line Leaks Underground rather than Tear Roads up, url=http://robotglobe.org/ulc-cisbot-utilized-to-repair-gas-line-leaks-underground-rather-than-tear-roads-up/, website=robotglobe.org, date=May 22, 2015 , access-date=February 27, 2018 {{cite news, title=ULC Robotics Doubles CISBOT Travel Distance, last=King, first=Nathan, url=https://www.ndt.org/news.asp?ObjectID=48152, access-date=Feb 26, 2018, work=The New York Times, date=September 9, 2012

External links

CISBOT in operation (YouTube video)
Industrial robots Pipeline transport 2010s in technology